Violence

Today, it is the most urgent threat for millions.

Violence is an everyday threat.

According to the United Nations, 4 billion people live outside the protection of the law. That means that their public justice systems—their police, courts, and laws—are so broken, corrupt and dysfunctional, that there is nothing to shield them from violence.

What if you called the police and no one came to help you?What if there was no way to get justice if someone harmed you or your children?What if violent criminals in your neighborhood had no fear of being caught?

The Reality

For poor people throughout the developing world, this is everyday life.

No defense. No protection. Nothing to hold back violence. Not just the violence that makes headlines like war or genocide, but common, criminal violence:

Slavery

Millions of children and families are forced to work for little or no pay in abusive and often violent conditions.

When you’re not protected from violence:

Work isn’t safe.

Home isn’t safe.

Millions of vulnerable widows and orphans live in fear of being chased away from their homes.

The streets aren’t safe.

Parents teach their children to run away from police to stay safe.

How We Work

Every day, we stand with our local partners and a global justice movement to push back the advance of violence and slavery. And every day, we’re seeing proof that it is possible to not only rescue individual people — but to stop violence before it starts.